“Red Flag” Water Monitoring - Update

A team of Afton volunteers has been doing monthly water monitoring tests of five local stream areas.

The team was trained by the Community Science Institute (CSI), a group that maintains an independent laboratory certified by the NYS Department of Health. CSI has developed an online data base of tests from more than 125 stream and lake locations in the Susquehanna and Cayuga Lake watersheds. This information is especially helpful as the region considers hydo-fracking and its negative environmental effects.

One of CSI’s goals is to educate and empower citizens to become stewards of their local environment. The Afton Water Monitoring team performs field measurements of “red flag” indicators – basic qualities of our water in its healthy state. If any of these indicators change, it is a signal for CSI to do more extensive water testing. A priority of our volunteer team is to maintain the quality of our water sources. 

This article from page 7, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Below is the original article describing the Water Monitoring Efforts from the first issue of the Afton Vision group newsletter (tilted The New Afton Enterprise when it was published in October 2012)

“Red Flag” Water Monitoring

Keep Our Water Safe!

A group of concerned Afton citizens have joined other volunteers in a multi-county area to monitor water quality at stream and lake locations in our local watersheds. This is especially important as we live in one of the five counties that Governor Cuomo’s administration is considering to initially be permitted for the controversial drilling method of hydrofracking for natural gas.

Professionals and trained volunteers collect field data of waterways that may be threatened by natural gas drilling, pipelines, and other threats that come with this industrial practice. 

Because there have been water contamination issues due to hydrofracking reported in other states, it is important for us to get baseline information prior to any drilling or pipeline activity.

Our Afton volunteers have been trained by the Community Science Institute (CSI; online at www.communityscience.org), a group that maintains an independent laboratory certified by the NYS Department of Health as well as an online data archive of the tests from over 125 stream and lake locations in the Susquehanna River and Cayuga Lake watersheds.

Water monitors use portable kits and meters to perform field measurements of five "red flag" indicators of possible contamination from shale gas operations: Temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and total hardness. Volunteers submit their results to CSI, and the quality of volunteer field data is evaluated by CSI staff based on calibration standards, duplicates and split samples. Although this water testing can be helpful, it is quite basic and does not test for specific harmful chemicals. (See below for more information about possible water contamination caused by hydrofracking).

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, whose goal is to “champion the rights of our communities to a Delaware River and tributary streams that are free-flowing, clean and healthy”, also trains volunteers to monitor water in their nearby geographic area.

Afton’s “Red Flaggers” began the testing of  waters in July. They plan to issue periodic updates of all testing results.